


Reunion

by sageclover61



Series: Paradise [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Archangels, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heaven, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nesting, Platonic Cuddling, Pregnant archangels, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Sam Winchester, Scandalized Raphael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-06-22 04:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sageclover61/pseuds/sageclover61
Summary: Following the return of Sam's psychic powers, the nightmares won't stop. The sudden presence of God's Sister outside the wards of the big nest doesn't help matters.





	1. Amara

When the most ancient Being broke free of Her supposedly unbreakable prison, the archangels had great reason to be afraid. Her grace as most like His, and their fear of Him was infinite. It was paralysing.

Michael was napping, his mate and siblings all within reach. The unfamiliar grace in Heaven stirred the others into surrounding Michael and Lucifer. Gabriel had taken Samandriel to Earth or they would have also surrounded the fledgling, and Castiel was with Dean.

The instincts of the archangels were specific. Protect the sick and the young, and those who could not safely protect themselves. The archangel fledgling Lucifer carried was an innocent. They were Michael’s fledgling, but the instincts of the flock insisted the child was the responsibility of them all, just like Raphael’s fledgling, Sami, was looked after by all of them. The child of one archangel was the child of all the archangels.

They did not know She meant them no harm. Only Michael would have remembered Her and he was sleeping, soundly content with the feeling of his siblings’ warmth surrounding him and his.

The other archangels spoke not a word. Their grace actively reinforced the warding on the room, but the wards were untested. They could in theory keep out God, but what if He, or She, actually went at the wards with their full strength? Could anything really keep out the creator of the universe? Or His sister?

  
  


she did not break the wards. she did not understand why there were so many of  _ them  _ but from outside their wards, she could see them. she could feel the one she was looking for at the center of them, but what was even more obvious to her was the fear.

The grace holding the wards quaked with it, and their posture in lying around the center, they were defending hers with their bodies. They feared the worst was about to happen. h _ er,  _ they feared  _ her _ . Why? she would never ever have hurt any of the beings He had created, had not even stood for Him laying a hand on His eldest child.

she could tell that the five beings in the room and at least one small grace she could not quite guess at the purpose of were all creations of His. (With the possible exception of the small grace(s?).) But it was too small to be a being yet, smaller than the creations He had been making but were unfinished at the time she had been cast out.

And they were frightened. she had been cast out for protecting the eldest from Him and she could only guess at what he had continued doing, not only to His eldest creation, but to the others as well. This was learned fear.  _ What had He done? _

  
  


The archangels curled on the floor didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t see Her through the walls and wards, didn’t want to. They cowered, hoping, wishing, but never praying, that perhaps, just maybe, they wouldn’t die today. But if She wanted to hurt them- there was no doubt in the minds of any of them that she was more than capable of it.

End the world- it would. But if She truly wanted an end to all of His Creations- it would be relatively easy. They had nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. The instinct to protect Lucifer and Michael wouldn’t let them leave, either.

And waking Michael was not an option. If the world was going to end- Michael would never know. They firmly believed that was how it was supposed to be.

The universe seemed to freeze. Three terrified and paralyzed archangels refusing to move and Her, seeming content to watch indefinitely without making any movement, hostile or otherwise.

It’s impossible to say what exactly woke Michael. The fear in his siblings’ graces, Her grace, the baby. But somehow, he woke, and he recognized the tension. He observed, taking in all of his surrounding and trying to make sure he understood.

And then he did. “Auntie Ama!” he shouted. He scrambled out from underneath the bodies of the other archangels and climbed over them as he rushed through the wards to hug the teenage girl standing just beyond the door. “Auntie Ama.”

The teenager hesitated for a moment but then she wrapped Her arms around him. “Mikha,” she said, quietly. There was worry and relief in her voice. “What happened to your wing?”

Michael leaned back, eying her warily. “Nothing?” he tried, not really trying to believe it himself and not really trusting she’d buy it.

“Mikha… don’t lie to me.”

The archangel gave her a grim smile. He’d been too young to really remember anything more complicated than the fact that one day she and the creator had been screaming at each other and then he never saw her again.

But he did remember that Amara had never once failed to see through his lies. “I… I wouldn’t tell the Creator where Gabriel went. I was protecting him, he’s my baby brother.”

she tightened her arms around Michael, and glanced behind him at the other beings in the room. They had all shifted to watch in morbid curiosity.

They were all still utterly afraid and she wanted nothing more than to hug them and assure them that she meant absolutely not harm to them. she was not her Brother. No. He’d imprisoned her for standing up when He’d been too rough with a very young Mikha.

“Where, where were you?” Michael swallowed, not sure whether or not he really wanted to know. He’d had suspicions, but the Creator had never said. He’d implied she’d abandoned him, but it was clear now that the manipulations had been rampant, if not clear exactly how much so.

“He locked me away. But I finally freed myself. I was worried about you.”

Michael nodded. It made sense to him that He would have done such a thing. “You haven’t met my mate, or my siblings, yet.” He pulled out of her hug, but reached to take her hand and led her to meet Heylel and the rest of the archangels.

* * *

Michael trusted Amara easily. He remembered her and how not only had she protected him, but her rooms had become the one place he associated with safety. There was a reason he had built a nest in the room that had once been hers.

The rest of his family did not trust her so easily, not when her existence felt so strongly of His and dug up their terror that He would return with the intention of bringing them further pain. The three younger archangels watched in trepidation as Michael led her over to Heylel, introducing her to his mate and the unborn baby.

Once Amara had been introduced to Heylel, Michael introduced her to each of their younger brothers one at a time. Raphael was introduced next so that he could make sure that the stress of Amara’s appearance hadn’t hurt Heylel or the baby.

“Ouch!”

Michael had just finished introducing Amara to the last of the archangels when Raphael yelped. A glance in their direction revealed that Heylel had doubled over and had gripped Raphael’s arm harder than intended. The pregnant archangel was looking sheepish, but pained.

Michael moved to his mate. “Heyl? Are you okay?”

“Hurts,” Heylel managed between gasping breaths.

“Is the baby coming?” Amara asked.

Raphael blanched.

* * *

“Mikha didn’t say why but he wants me to come back to Heaven.” Gabriel ran his fingers through Sam’s hair. He was lying on his back on the bed and Sam was curled next to him, using him as a pillow. “I  _ could  _ just ignore him.”

“Think he might have answers to why I’ve been dreaming about being sad and cold and dark?” Sam folded himself even smaller, trying to get as close to Gabriel as physically possible. It was late at night but sleeping was a no go because he’d already woken up from a nightmare.

Samandriel slept on the foot of the bed, curled up in one of Sam's blankets. It was nothing short of a miracle that Sam had not woken him.

“I’m picking up what feels like a strange presence in Heaven, but Mikha sounded genuinely exuberant. He wouldn’t have sounded like that if anything was amiss.” Gabriel draped his other arm over Sam. His mate sought tactile comfort but often never thought to ask for it, but that was okay. He could read Sam’s non-verbal request not to be left alone.

“No one knows how long Heylel’s pregnancy could be, right? His going into labor would be a cause for celebration.”

“It’s possible.” Gabriel leaned his head back, studying the ceiling. “I could take you to see them, if you’d like to go?”

Sam liked Mikha and Heylel, but he was also mentally exhausted and the after effects of waking up from a realistic nightmare hadn’t gone away yet. But if Heylel _had_ gone into labor, then maybe seeing them safe and healthy would provide some comfort.

* * *

Gabriel held the still sleeping Sami and flew Sam directly to the big family nest and what they found was about what they were expecting.

Raphael was in one corner of the room, trembling while trying to remain as still as possible. He had paled significantly and also looked as though he might faint. A woman who looked like a teenager was sitting next to him and talking quietly.

Mikha and Heylel were sitting on the floor. Heylel was holding a bundle wrapped in a dark green blanket and Mikha was leaning over them and tickling the bundle while making silly faces.

Aziraphale and his Crowley were out of the way, keeping an eye on the woman and their brothers. Seeing Gabriel's arrival, Aziraphale walked over.

“Is your brother okay?” Sam asked quietly to Gabriel, referring to Raphael. He was excited at the prospect of Heylel having given birth, but he was also concerned about the distressed archangel in the corner of the room. Slightly more concerning though, was the woman with him. “Gabe,” he whispered, “she looks like the woman from my dream.”

“I don’t know who she is,” Gabriel whispered. But his tone didn’t convey any worry about that. If Michael and Heylel were at ease enough to allow her into the nest when Heylel had given birth, and none of their siblings were putting up a fight, it meant that the likeliness of her meaning any harm were zilch. “I don’t think we should disturb Rafa right now. Instead, let’s go check on Mikha and Heylel.”

"I can hold Sami," Azi offered, relieving the archangel of the sleeping fledgling before Gabriel headed towards Michael and Heylel.

Sam followed Gabriel across the room in the direction of the eldest archangels. He wanted to see the child of archangels, but there was also a small part of him that worried that even though Michael and Heylel had been increasingly friendly with him, they wouldn’t want the likes of  _ him  _ here for this.

His fears were unfounded, of course. “Sam! Gabriel! You came!” Michael beamed at them when he looked up from the baby. “You have to come meet Talia!”

“May I hold Talia?” Gabriel asked, looking not at Michael, but at Heylel.

Heylel nodded in consent, and gently passed Gabriel the baby. “Hi, baby,” he cooed. “I’m your Uncle Gabe.”

The baby spat bubbles at Gabriel and Gabriel cooed.

“Sam, are you alright?” Heylel asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” Sam said, brushing it aside. This was a joyous occasion and he didn’t get to bring it down. “Just tired, haven’t been sleeping well.”

“Do you want to hold Talia, Sam?” Gabriel asked.

“I think I’d better pass,” Sam said. If he was coming down with something, then he really shouldn’t be putting himself in a position to spread it to a defenseless.

A glance in the direction of Raphael revealed that the woman Sam didn’t know had moved away from him so Sam decided to approach.

“Hey, Sam.” The Healer sounded achingly weary and for a moment, Sam wondered if he’d made a mistake wandering over. It was obvious that the archangel wasn’t okay, that meant that he should probably not be bothered. It wasn’t  _ that  _ hard to figure out what had probably happened. Raphael had already told Sam that he was worried he wouldn’t be able to deliver Heylel’s baby. Either he  _ had  _ been able to do it, or he hadn’t been able to, which could have had something to do with the new woman.  _ Though not why she looked remarkably familiar. _

“Do you need anything?” Sam asked instead.

“I don’t need anything,” the archangel answered. “But if you’d like to sit, I’d welcome the company.”

Sam sat. He was bone achingly exhausted, but he had no idea whether or not he would actually be able to sleep. Not with the memories of the nightmares still so close to the surface.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and then the woman returned. “Hello,” she said shyly, standing almost directly in front of Sam.

_ That voice. _

“Sam, this is our Aunt Amara.”

Sam reached out to shake her hand, looking up to make eye contact with her.

_ Sam was frozen. It was a cold and dark abyss. There was only fear that the one he was closest to was hurting and that there was nothing he would be able to do about it. _

The cold hands on his wrists shook the vision from his sight, leaving him nauseous and trembling. With Gabriel’s mate bond, he was incapable of feeling entirely alone, but the emotion behind the daymare almost overwhelmed it.

“You don’t need to see my past, Samuel, that is not for you.” She was not chastising him, and the warmth of her tone was surprising, but welcome.

_ Her past? _ Sam was still not sure who she was, other than that Raphael had called her Aunt Amara, let alone why it was her past that had featured in his nightmares lately. How did she even know what his vision had been of?

"Here Sam, hold Talia for a minute." Before Sam could object, the newborn was more or less dropped into his lap. It was sheer luck she ended up in his arms and not on the floor.

Sam froze, waiting for Talia to scream her displeasure. What right did he have to hold such a pure and beautiful creature?

Talia didn't scream. She blinked several times, a confused expression on her face, but she did not scream. Her eyes screwed shut as though she were about to scream, but then she yawned. Less than a minute later she was asleep. The only difference Sam could make out between her and a typical newborn were her creamy yellow wings.

Sam was too exhausted for this. He wanted to believe that Gabriel was infallible and therefore he should trust that his mate knew what he was doing in handing him Talia, but it wasn't so easy. Not when he'd spent so much of his life believing he deserved absolutely nothing.

No one tried to take the sleeping baby from Sam and he would have protested if anyone had tried. Leaning against Raphael, he felt cozy and the positive feeling was welcome. So welcome that he didn't try to fight the sleep that came with the soft chill of Amara's hands.

* * *

Sam had slept and slept. At some point, Amara had insisted Raphael move so she could hold the sleeping human and while Raphael hadn't needed to move, sitting motionless for more than five hours wasn't exactly comfortable. 

Sam had now been asleep for more than 9 hours and Gabriel was looking pretty worried, so Raphael approached.

"Why is Sam so tired?" Raphael asked. He had seen the large bags under Sam's eyes but this seemed unusual. "Have the two of you been too busy to sleep?"

Gabriel sighed. He knew what his brother was alluding to, but he also knew that Raphael didn't  _ really _ want any insight into their (pretty nonexistent) sex life. “The nightmares have been bad enough that he’s only been getting about two or three hours of sleep each night. But I’m glad to see he’s getting more sleep now. Even if I am a little worried about it.”

“If the return of his visions has spiked his anxiety, it’s possible the increase in nightmares is related. Has he mentioned whether or not he wants me to try to make a medication for him?”

Gabriel shook his head. "It's not a decision to be made lightly and I don't want to pressure him into anything. With everything that's been going on, it's possible that he forgot your offer."

"He had seemed positively inclined towards my finding a medication for him, but he could have changed his mind." Raphael looked back towards Gabriel's sleeping mate. "Perhaps this is a sign that his nightmares will start decreasing." But even as he said it, he knew that wasn't going to be the case.

More like the calm before the storm.

* * *

The baby was gone when Sam awoke and he couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that followed the momentary panic before finding that the baby was safe in the arms of one of the other archangels.

Sam swallowed. He didn't have any right to feel disappointment. The baby wasn't  _ his _ . And yet, it stung mildly, and he  _ regretted _ having fallen asleep in the first place.

"Sam."

He yanked his gaze away from Talia and Heylel to find that Gabriel was crouching next to him. "Talia woke up and was about to start crying because she was hungry so Heylel took her back before she could wake you. Rafa and I agreed that you needed to sleep, and you did."

Sam yawned. What was he supposed to say to that? The rest of the disappointment shifted into shame.  _ Clearly he didn't deserve their kindness. _

"Sam, do you think you can eat something?" Raphael was no longer sitting on the other side of him, but had walked back over.

"I'm not hungry."

"You slept for 16 hours, Sam," Gabriel said. "Do you think you can try to drink some of this tomato soup for me?"

Sam felt nauseous, but he relented because he was a little thirsty. The first few swallows didn't go down well, but they did stimulate his appetite enough to eat the entire bowl of soup and both halves of grilled cheese sandwich.

He wasn't sure they actually made him feel better though.

Almost as soon as he had pushed aside the tray, Amara placed Talia back in his lap. The fledgling was awake and cooed happily at him.

Gabriel sat cross-legged in front of Sam with their knees brushing. "We can stay as long as you'd like, or we can leave when you're ready."

Sam glanced to where Sami was playing with Aziraphale and Samael. "Has Samandriel gotten to meet the new baby yet?"

"Raphael introduced him after he woke up from his nap."

“We could babysit him on Earth again for awhile,” Sam suggested.

"It's sweet of you to offer," Raphael said, walking up behind Sam. "But it looks like he's having fun over there right now. You and my brother should go have some nice alone time instead."

“Okay.” Sam brushed Talia’s shoulder gently, then passed her to Raphael. “Gabriel? We can go now, if you’re ready.” It wasn’t that he  _ really  _ wanted to go, but while he knew that Raphael or any of the other archangels would  _ never  _ suggest that he was ever unwelcome in Heaven, he still felt as though Raphael had just invited him to leave and he wasn’t going to decline, even if he wanted to stay.

“We don’t have to go,” Gabriel said quietly, a reminder that he had a choice. 

  
But Sam shook his head. He was finally feeling less lethargic and Raphael’s suggestion felt like a good one. He  _ had  _ been missing quality alone time with Gabriel.

* * *

Gabriel leaned against his sleeping mate and pressed his nose against the top of Sam's head. The lavender scent from the shampoo Dean had left was subtle and pleasant. He just hoped it helped.

With a gentle kiss to Sam's head, the archangel shifted back onto the pile of pillows he and Sam had been reclining on. All the bedding was Sam's mating presents, grace infused pillows and blankets from all the other archangels.

_ They spoiled the humans. Sam and Dean both. And his mate deserved it. Deserved the motherfucking world. _

He glanced at the stapled packet in his hand. It didn't have a title written on it, but he knew what it was. It had been left on the bedside table with the shampoo, obviously by Dean, while he and Sam had been visiting Heaven.

Sam had been more wide awake and energetic and horny when they'd come back than he'd been in awhile, but it hadn't been a surprise when he'd fallen asleep in the bath following several rounds of lovemaking.

Gabriel wished that it was not so difficult for Sam to relax, but he understood. Even so, now that Sam was asleep, he read the packet.

_ The Care and Keeping of your Samoose,  _ he thought fondly, though those words were scribbled nowhere. The title fit, though, as the packet was exactly that.

Dean had written pages and pages on Sam's habits. Favorite foods, favorite songs, stories of the kind of trouble he'd gotten into as a kid.

There was an entire section on various methods once used to get an insomniac Sam to sleep.

As well as a detailed account of every sickness Sam had ever had. And several pages clearly hacked from Stanford detailing Sam's diagnosed mental health problems and subsequent prescription medications.

Gabriel was shocked because this here was the clearest thing he could have ever received from the older Winchester that suggested  _ Dean Winchester _ trusted  _ him _ with his baby brother. Containing information that Gabriel  _ knew _ Sam hadn't given Dean before.

  
Needless to say, Gabriel read the whole document and then reread it a second time, annotating it as he did so. He loved Sam, and knew that Dean had had far too much responsibility as a child when it came to taking care of Sammy. So the least he could do to repay Dean was to make use of the decades worth of information collected, especially if there was something he could use to help Sam  _ now _ .

* * *

Gabriel had barely put his pens down when Sam started screaming in his sleep.

"Sam," he whispered quietly, reaching for his mate. He wasn't going to shake Sam with any vigor but he would try to ground him.

_ When Sam turned 11, he started suffering night terrors. It didn't take long for them to stop, but sometimes driving around the block soothed him when nothing else would. In retrospect, given the frequency and severity of the demon blood visions, I wonder if there was some connection. _

If Sam hadn't already been suffering nightmares, then this level of intensity had been reached following the consummated mate bond which had… Reawakened the psychic powers.

"Sam," Gabriel repeated. "Please wake up."

Sam screamed again but it was interrupted by his back arching and his eyes popping open.

Gabriel kissed Sam. Sam's eyes were glazed and confused, haunted and terrified, and there was nothing he wanted more than to be able to fix everything, but he couldn't. So he kissed his mate and focussed on filling the mate bond between them with his love and support for Sam.

"Gabriel?" Sam choked when Gabriel had to pull back to keep from suffocating the love of his immortal life.

"I love you," Gabriel whispered, pressing a kiss to Sam's forehead. "You know that, right?"

"Mhmm." He snuggled into Gabriel's side.

"I know this is scary, but can you  _ show _ me the dream?" Gabriel didn't want to ask, didn't want to  _ have  _ to ask for anything that could or would hurt Sam, but he had to  _ know. _

And Sam did.

_ It was a shivering and unseeing thing with no name with which to call itself, in a space smaller than itself, which it had to be inside because otherwise Bad Things happened, and its back  _ ached.

"Sam… have all your nightmares been about this creature?"

"I don't know. It's always dark, but there's a variance to it. Like sometimes it feels as though the dark the person is in is vast beyond space and time while other times it's like this. And sometimes… sometimes it seems like I'm seeing something in multiple ages."

"I'm not sure what Aunt Amara meant about you seeing her past, but that wasn't a human child, Sam. And that wasn't her as a kid.”

“No?”

“That was a  _ fledgling _ , Sam.”


	2. Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for slight mentions of vomit.

The archangels had no idea what to do.

Samandriel was still crying after a nightmare had woken him up and Heylel was holding a restless Talia, who they assumed had been disturbed by Sami’s terror and unease.

Raphael’s fledgling was mostly curled up in Michael’s lap, though he also had Raphael’s shirt clenched in his fist.

“Sweetheart,” Raphael whispered as he rubbed Sami’s back. “Can you tell us about your nightmare?”

"Injured fledgling," Sami whimpered, sobbing harder. “Cold and dark and all alone. They're injured and squeezed in a space too small and there's so much  _ pain _ .”

This was not the first they’d heard of this nightmare from the fledgling, but they’d hoped that with Talia’s birth, they’d be able to convince Sami more easily that it was  _ just  _ a nightmare, because that’s all it was, wasn’t it?

* * *

Sam was completely wrung out, and yet still too wired for sleep. Not that Gabriel could blame him, but as he brushed the hair off Sam’s sweat covered brow, he really wished there was  _ something  _ that he could do to help.

As it stood, Gabriel was reclining on the bed and Sam was curled next to him, his head in his archangel’s lap. There was some rock music playing quietly, but it was the only background noise.

“I’m sorry,” Sam whined at some point. “You probably wanted to bond with your niece and here you are, stuck keeping me company.”

“Sam, I’m exactly where I want to be,” Gabriel promised. “Although, you did seem to sleep pretty well in Heaven yesterday. Would you want to spend some more time in the big nest? You’re welcome whenever you want.”

“Not right now.” Sam shivered, so Gabriel folded some of the blankets over Sam an extra time to provide more warmth.

An idea struck the archangel, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t tried it yet. Slowly, he manifested his wings on the physical plane. “Will you help me groom my wings?” They didn’t really need it because his siblings were sickeningly tactile and once he’d molted, his feathers had never ever looked better.

But he didn’t want Sam to  _ actually  _ groom them. He wanted to provide his mate with a plausible distraction that should have also provided him some comfort and hopefully with the understanding that he was worth  _ the universe  _ because he didn’t just go around showing them to any old person.

“Really? You want  _ me  _ to groom them?”

Gabriel had had no  _ idea  _ that Sam could sound so hopeful and disbelieving at the same time, and yet it didn’t surprise him. Instead of answering, he maneuvered a wing so that the tip was mere inches from Sam’s fingers. “It’s  _ more  _ than okay for you to touch.”

Sam was tentative at first, but eventually he sank his fingers into the plumage. Gabriel thought it felt  _ divine  _ and couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather have Sam’s fingers, with the possible exception of massaging the oil ducts. But Sam wasn’t ready for that yet.

Gabriel showed Sam the proper way to groom an angel’s wings, and in under half an hour Sam was asleep. He could tell that it wasn’t much deeper than a light doze, but he also knew that they had to take what they could get.

* * *

_ Something was wrong.  _ Gabriel knew that even before the screaming started, though except for the sudden dread pooling in his stomach, he couldn’t have explained how or why he knew that.

And then Sam screamed. Except it wasn’t like the screaming that came from the rest of the nightmares. Sure, each dream had brought enough terror with it that made each subsequent attempt at falling asleep  _ that much more difficult _ but this wasn't a scream of simple bone chilling terror.

The first difference was that Gabriel could make out a word, this time. The word was “No.” But Sam wasn’t  _ just  _ shouting “no” at the top of his lungs. 

No, Sam was screaming in a way that he was never supposed to, but had already done far too many times. It was the scream of one who had lost something they held dear, the sound of one whose heart was being torn to pieces, after everything they had done to try and keep it together. It was a haunting noise, one of ultimate suffering, and one that Gabriel hoped to never hear from his mate ever again.

He’d heard the sound from Sam when he’d killed Dean on that horrible Wednesday at the Mystery Spot. And again when Lilith’s Hellhounds had dragged Dean’s soul to Hell. He’d made a point of being as far away as he possibly could get, but he’d still heard it.  _ Everyone, had heard it. _

There was nothing Gabriel could do to wake Sam, and that wasn’t the end of it. The gut-wrenching scream didn’t  _ stop _ . Not until the door slammed open and Dean was halfway across the room.

The screaming stopped then, as Sam's eyes flew open and he threw up on himself.

* * *

"We need to go," Jormungandr said, turning on his heel and storming out of the motel room they had been standing in for under a minute and a half.

"But we just got here," Fenrir whined, even as he turned to follow his sibling. "We don't even know what that was all about."

"Whatever that was, trust me when I say it's bad news. Samuel isn't up for company, apology of not."

"I still don't see why you think I should do the apologizing. I'm not the one who changed the alcohol proof."

"Dad deserves an apology,  _ from you _ . We were all worried after what Kali did, but you insulted Dad's mate before you ever even met him."

"You haven't met him yet either," Fen grumbled. "And what part of that is you 'withholding judgement' or whatever?” He scoffed. “Hypocrite."

Jor stopped moving, sighed, then turned around. "Tell me what you got out of the aura of the room, and I'll tell you why we need to go get Hela and do  _ something _ ."

Fenrir shrugged. "Dad's worried about Sam. I smelled sleeplessness and terror. That obviously wasn't the first nightmare and it's not going to be the last." He used his fingers as he made each statement like checkmarks on a list. "The omnipresent darkness wasn't great. Was that from picking up on the edges of the nightmare?"

"I understand from the grapevine that Sam's more or less a psychic. Probably more. But it wasn't just a nightmare. It would seem that he's picking up on something like a supernatural child, not unlike how Dad found us but much worse and the nightmares aren't going to stop. Not now."

"You want Hela to track the kid. To what end?"

"Fen, there's a kid out there in so much agony that it's  _ destroying _ Dad's mate. There doesn't have to be an agenda. Although maybe it would make a good peace offering and Dad won't really ground us for the next millennia?"

"I'm only in because I like a good adventure and maybe Hela will stop it with the dirty looks."

***

  
"You're both idiots," Hela said. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, glaring at them. "But I'll help because I like Sam. And even  _ I  _ could hear that scream of ultimate suffering.”

* * *

There was nothing Dean hated more than seeing his brother like this. The need to vomit had apparently woken Sam up from the worst screaming Dean had ever heard from him, but he was so out of it and more afraid than he’d ever seen his baby brother.

And he had  _ no idea  _ how to help, especially when even Gabriel seemed to be at a loss.

“Did you need something?” Gabriel asked in his direction. He hadn’t made any attempt to lower his voice, so it was a testament to how out of it Sam was that he didn’t seem to notice it.

“I had a few notes for the packet I left.” He fidgeted. Aim him at whatever creature was hurting civilians, he could find a way to kill it. But he had no idea how to deal with this kind of thing. It was almost like the Ghost Sickness all over again, except worse because it was affecting  _ Sam _ . “You said he slept well in Heaven, right? Maybe… Maybe you should take him back.”

The thought of the future terrified him. He  _ knew  _ that Gabriel and his brother were the equivalent of married, for life, and that in all likelihood, they’d return to Heaven,  _ permanently,  _ sooner or later. He and Castiel were  _ close  _ but… He didn’t really know where they stood with the rest of the archangels or what that would mean for them and he wasn’t ready to think about it yet.

“Sam said he wasn’t ready to go back yet and I want to respect that decision,” Gabriel said.

“Sammy never agrees to what’s best for himself because he’s a stubborn little bitch, but if he wasn’t like that, he wouldn’t be my little brother. Sometimes it seems as though he says no to the things he wants the most in an attempt to punish himself for having desires in the first place.” Dean could see Gabriel’s hesitance in his eyes, so he pulled the trump card. “Cas said Heylel gave birth to a beautiful little fledgling, and Sam loves kids. He can pass on my congratulations when he’s up there, and maybe the soothing atmosphere will be exactly what he needs.”

It was hard for Gabriel to refuse Dean's logic, but he didn't want to move Sam when he had very little recognition as to where he was because too many people had tried to force their wills on Sam. "I'll ask Sam again when he's more coherent."

Dean nodded, knowing that was the best answer he'd get. "Oh! Two people dropped by looking for you. I didn't get their names and I think they left."

"They did leave. I know who they are, and it's nothing to worry about. I need to talk to them, but…. Sam’s more important."

* * *

Once Sam had agreed to return to Heaven, Gabriel flew him back. Sam was still out of it enough that he decided that instead of flying directly into the nest, he should instead fly to the entrance of the building Michael had chosen as belonging to their flock. He hoped that walking around Heaven would help lessen Sam’s turmoil.

There was also a feeling of something not quite right coming from the nest, and he wanted to be sure of what it was before subjecting his mate to it, or contributing to it.

  
  


“Do you think  _ he  _ would know where to find it?” This line was spoken by Aziraphale as he and Crowley happened to be walking through that hallway right as Gabriel and Sam were walking into it.

"Even if he did, and I'm not saying that he could, we still haven't told anyone about him. Do you  _ really  _ want to tell Mikha or Heylel everything we conveniently forgot about,  _ now _ ?"

"Not especially. At this point, it’ll only become less convenient the longer we haven’t told them.”

“Haven’t told Mikha what?” Gabriel asked. His brothers had just come around the corner so what they saw was Gabriel standing in the hallway with Sam leaning against him.

“Nothing?” Aziraphale tried.

“You’re definitely hiding something,” Gabriel said. “Someone secret, but you haven’t told Mikha or Heylel about him yet, so perhaps someone from Tadfield?” Gabriel considered the two guilty looking archangels. “Are you hiding your fledgling somewhere?”

Aziraphale blushed and stammered something inaudible while shaking his head.

Crowley rolled his eyes. “We don’t have a fledgling and we’re not hiding them. And we don’t  _ want  _ our own children, although I can’t wait for Talia to be old enough to steal away and stuff with sugar before giving her back.”

“Crowley,” Aziraphale scolded.

Sam laughed, though no one else did. It wasn’t even that the statement was humorous except he was still so close to the absolute terror in the back of his mind that if he didn’t hold on tight to this piece of hilarity, he was going to be back in tears, and that was the  _ last  _ thing he wanted.

Crowley raised an eyebrow, but not at Sam. Rather, the eyebrow was raised in Gabriel’s direction.

Gabriel thought he knew why his brother was raising an eyebrow, but he shrugged because even though the comment hadn’t been very funny, it was better than anything else Sam could have done.

Crowely stepped forward towards them. He blinked at Gabriel then nodded towards the exit to the building. “Hey, Sam, back in Tadfield I keep plants. They were my hobby, right? So this one time, someone brings me a fucking banana tree. In England.  _ Where did they even get a fucking banana tree _ ?"

The rest of the story was about as nonsensical and there was no point to it, except Crowley didn't finish telling it until they were all outside and Gabriel had encouraged Sam to lie down in the garden.

"Sam, do you think you'll be okay sitting here with Crowley for a little while? I need to go talk to Michael, but it shouldn't take more than half an hour."

Crowley sat down next to Sam, who leaned over to put his head in Crowley's lap. It was a good position because he could see Gabriel quite clearly and he was so tired that it was hard to keep his head up. "Take all the time you need," Sam said. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'll be just fine."

Gabriel nodded. "Okay." The Messenger turned and walked briskly out of the garden. As soon as he was out of Sam's sight, he sprinted for the big nest. Aziraphale was not far behind.

* * *

"Sam's having visions of an injured fledgling trapped somewhere on Earth, and they're getting worse," Gabriel said as soon as he walked into the big nest.

Everyone turned to look at him. Gabriel appreciated that Samandriel and Talia were both sleeping, but this was  _ really  _ important.

"Sami's been having a nightmare that sounds like that, but you're  _ sure  _ it's not just a bad dream?" Raphael asked. He wasn't hopeful because it made too much sense for the fledgling and the hunter to be sharing a vision, but he had to ask.

"Sam's a psychic, sort of. If anyone was having visions about a fledgling in danger, it  _ would  _ be him," Gabriel insisted. This was the only explanation he could think of for Sam's nightmares and it was worth investigating.

"Whose fledgling is missing?" Heylel asked. He was holding Talia and he looked sad. He and Michael had been overjoyed to have a fledgling. How could anyone lose one without them knowing about itt?

"As far as I knew, Talia was the first fledgling born after Sami," Raphael said. "That said, Sami is only still a fledgling now because of what Naomi did to his grace."

"Castiel was raised with the last group of angels, right?" Heylel asked. "Was his aging slowed to prevent anyone from knowing otherwise? Could the locks preventing Sami from growing have been used on someone else?" 

"I don't  _ know _ ." Raphael's hand brushed Samandriel's head. "Azi, did anything you read in Naomi's notes suggest such a thing?"

"Not so explicitly as what she did to Cas, Sami, and you, but I can look again."

"Could someone later have simply hid that they were pregnant?" Michael asked.

"I don't think we'll know what happened until we find the missing fledgling," Gabriel said.

"We'll find them," Michael promised.

Amara was sitting on the floor and had been listening to the conversation without offering her own input. Now, she stood. "Gabriel, can I see Sam? I might be able to track the location of the fledgling through his visions."

"Sure. Sam's in the garden. But you should really ask him first because that sounds kind of invasive and he’s been through a lot."

* * *

Sam was asleep in the garden when Gabriel and Amara rejoined him and Crowley.

"Any nightmares?" Gabriel asked.

"Just restless sleep."

Amara and Gabriel sat on the other side of Sam and waited. Several hours passed and there were no nightmares.

Sam blinked. He was exhausted, and if possible he was more tired than when they'd first arrived in Heaven. "Gabe?"

"Right here, Sam-a-lam." Gabriel leaned forward so he was clearly in Sam's vision. "Do you remember where we are?"

"The garden?" Sam blinked again. "How did your thing go?"

"It was okay. You remember my Aunt Amara? She was thinking she could track the fledgling in your vision, if you’re okay with her trying."

"Really?! Can she try now?!"

"I can see the vision residue so it's possible. But no guarantees. It might take another vision to find it."

They walked back to the big nest. Sam leaned on Gabriel because he had developed a headache and was feeling slightly dizzy.

They walked into the big nest and had barely stepped inside when Sam doubled over, entire body spasming and blood from his nose splattering on the floor.

* * *

"Auntie Ama! Auntie Ama! I'm gonna be a brother!"

_ Sam recognized the space they were standing as the garden in front of the big nest. There was a small person who appeared to be a child about three or four and with him was the woman he recognized as Amara. The teenage appearance was only a little different as he would say that she appeared physically a few years younger. Perhaps 14 instead of 17. _

"You're going to be the  _ best  _ big brother ever, Mi." She picked the child up and bounced him on her hip.

"Did you see them?"

"Your younger siblings? No, not yet. Would you like to show me?"

"That way, Auntie Ama!"

The teenager shifted the child up onto her shoulders and then took off running in the given direction, Michael squealing in delight.

Sam wasn't sure whether or not he was supposed to follow but it didn't end up mattering because everything dissolved until he found himself somewhere else.

He was in a room this time, but not one he recognized. Michael was standing on his toes, nose pressed against the glass wall. Amara stood behind him, grinning.

The glass was blocking off another room in the building, and all Sam could see inside it was blinding light. He thought there might be two different lights, but he couldn't pick out he acute differences. 

"They're so pretty, Auntie! I can't wait to get to play with them!"

A door Sam couldn't see opened, and someone else stepped into the room. "Michael! What did I tell you! You can't be in here! Amara, get out!"

Michael didn't move away from the glass, but Amara turned around to face the new arrival. She pouted. "We were just admiring your newest creations. "We're not causing any harm."

"I said get out!"

Amara took a step forward, like she would take her leave of the room, but the child didn't so much as turn around. "I wanna watch the babies! I'm gonna be the bestest big brother ever!"

Sam still couldn't see the third person in the room, but he could feel the anger and the hate.

And then He was tugging Michael away from the window by his neck. "What did you say?!"

If His voice had already been a low roar, then this was like a thunderous explosion. One that made Sam's eardrums throb even though he wasn't physically present.

"Auntie Ama said…!"

There was a harsh slap interrupting him and the echo almost seemed to shake the room. 

"I don't care what Amara said! What I say goes, and I said no one was allowed in here!  _ Ever _ !"

Sam saw the next strike before it was made and he  _ wished _ there was something he could do about it. It felt like being in a room with Dean and John again, except he wasn't a small 4 year old with no way of doing anything.

Except this was 6000 years in the past and if the second slap had come, there was no way for him to stop it.

It never came. It never came because Amara tackled God, forcing him to release his grip on the back of Michael's neck.

_ "Run,"  _ she whispered to the sobbing fledgling archangel, the first of his kind.

"Amara!" He screamed in anger rather than any pain. "I'll kill you!"

"For what? Why would you hit your son, Brother? He did nothing wrong."

"He is mine! Not yours! You have no say in how I raise him, and it is your fault he is disobedient. In fact… I think it's time for you disappear entirely. But I won't kill you, that would be too boring."

The Entity that Sam had once believed to be the Best Higher Power, but no longer, snapped.

* * *

"What's happening to him?" Gabriel asked. He and Amara and gotten Sam situated close to the others and where Raphael could get a closer look at the then spasming human.

He wasn't spasming now, but he was disturbingly still and his color was pale. They hadn't been able to staunch the bloody nose, either, so Gabriel was sure that he had seen healthier dead bodies.

"He's having a vision and his nose is bleeding because of the muscle strain. Has he been practicing with the spoon?"

"He hasn't been sleeping because of the nightmares so the spoon exercise more or less never happened." Gabriel didn't blame Sam for that one. It had been a pretty weird instruction.

"Maybe we'll try it when he's feeling better. This isn't a good sleep, it's more like he's unconscious." Raphael glanced at Amara. "Can you tell if it's another vision of the fledgling, and if so, find it?"

Amara shook her head. "It isn't the fledgling. I don't know why he would be, but it feels like he's having another vision of my past."

Gabriel gave her a wry smile. "If anyone can get into places they're not supposed to be, it's Sam."

Michael ran a hand gently against Sam's back. "He feels so worn through. Taut like a string ready to snap, but also one ready to break from the force of friction."

Sam's back arched hard enough that every joint cracked one after the other, and then he was bonelessly lying down again.

"Well that was weird," Raphael commented idly, but he didn't look worried about it. 

* * *

_ It was cold and dark, in a vast emptiness that did not surprise Sam because he had been here before. This was not the vision of the injured fledgling because this was Her prison. _

"You should not be here."

It was hard to turn around in an infinite space of no gravity, but somehow Sam managed. "I'm not really here, how can you see me?"

"Time has never existed in this place. It was my home for eons before it was ever to be my prison."

"So what is it?" Sam asked, confused. "Where are we?"

"There in an entity outside the chaos containing Heaven, Hell, and Earth called The Empty. Like Michael and the other archangels are the creations of my Brother, The Empty was mine."

"Didn't Gabriel say something about angels who died going to The Empty?" Sam couldn't remember what Gabriel's exact words had been, but he was sure they had been important. If he wasn't really here, how could his head hurt  _ so much? _

"I created The Empty before my Brother ever thought about creating Michael. But I mentioned that time does not exist here, and it's not linear. I know who you are because we have met, though chronologically Earth hasn't been created yet. My Brother hurt all of the children he ever created and I wanted to give them a place to rest where no one could ever bother them again, so I did."

"And this prison is also outside the chaos?" Sam asked.

"This is where I was when I created The Empty. I can't currently leave because He has imprisoned me here. But I will escape, someday." The Entity smiled, or at least, Sam thought she was smiling. "But that much I think you already know."

"If you never escape, I'll never meet you. But we have met." Sam blinked. "But you already knew that." 

Even though it was too dark for Sam to see anything, he thought there was a hint of mirth in her eyes.

"My Brother is believed by your kind to be all powerful and all knowing. We are having this discussion in my prison, and trust me when I say that I remember meeting you before. It's time for you to go because this is not what you're looking for. But I hope you find it."

"The fledgling!" Sam shouted, remembering even though he felt disconnected and like something was about to change again. "I have to find them!"

"The sudden cry of an injured fledgling was why I finally left my prison. But I didn't expect it to not be Michael. It's one thing to know what a future might hold and quite another to find yourself suddenly in the middle of it."

"Can you find the fledgling?"

"I wish that I could, Samuel. But his presence is blocked to me."

Sam swallowed.  _ That was bad.  _ "If you can't find him, how will I?"

"The how doesn't matter. You need to leave now, but listen to me. I trust that you  _ will _ find the fledgling."

The darkness that he could see through became pixelated, and piece by piece, lights were added.

_ Everything hurt. His face was both wet and sticky. It felt like his nose was broken and his eardrums had ruptured. And that was even before the migraine that felt like it encompassed his entire forehead and eye sockets. _

"'Lo?" he croaked. "Am I dead?" He was probably in too much pain to be dead, unless he was being tortured in Hell, but that was probably worse than this.

"He's awake!" someone shouted loudly enough that it made the bells in his ears ring even louder and he flinched away from the noise sharply enough that his head cracked loudly into the floor, and he couldn't help the resulting scream.

Except it wasn't really a scream because he was pretty sure that he had never been so hoarse in his life.

"You're very much alive, Sam."

The whisper was unusual for that voice, but it was not possible for Sam to mistake it. He croaked something that was supposed to be something joyous and he reached out where the voice had come from. He grabbed at his mate's shirt and  _ tugged _ .  _ "Come here _ . _ " _

Gabriel yielded and a second later he was tucked carefully under Sam's entire body.

"Not that I don't appreciate the love, but why are you using me as a full body pillow?"

"Shhhh," Sam snarled, then buried his head into Gabriel's body. It was too bright and loud and he couldn't think.

He  _ knew  _ he was missing something important. The connection between God, Amara, the fledgling she couldn't find, and the archangels. But it was evading what few mental processes weren't focussed on the overwhelming agony. And on top of that, he felt so lightheaded.

"Sam, I know you're uncomfortable, but can you drink this for me? You've lost a lot of blood and I'm sure your head is in agony."

Sam opened his mouth because he respected the healer and he appreciated that it was a straw that entered his mouth because there was no way he could have used a cup without spilling it on himself.

The liquid that came through the straw tasted like good water and even though it didn't instantly relieve any of his aches and pains, it did help his parched throat.

Sam turned his head away when the liquid was gone. He was so fucking worn out and he just wanted to sleep while at the same time wanting to never sleep again and he couldn't have it both ways.  _ Why was he such a mess, and why did Gabriel love him despite how much of a mess he obviously was? _

* * *

Sam didn't fall asleep after waking from the vision, but Gabriel hadn't expected him to either. Raphael's mixture had included a gentle painkiller and some nutrients, but no sleeping aids and none of their ideas for an anti anxiety medication because those had to be things Sam decided to try for himself if and when he was ready.

What Gabriel didn't understand was why Sam had more or less laid down on top of him, and trying to read his mind had resulted in no clues because it was completely blank.

The only thing Gabriel had managed to see in Sam's head was that he was in overwhelming agony and that it hurt to think.

Gabriel supposed that was probably because Sam had spent three full days in the vision and his psychic muscles weren't ready for anything like that.

Michael had wanted to stay and keep an eye on his friend, but Raphael had convinced him that it would be better if he went with Heylel and the fledglings outside. Resting in the big nest would be good for Sam, there would always be someone there and awake to keep him company, but at least until he was a little more present, it would be good for the fledglings to have some outside time.

Six hours after Sam had jolted from the nest Sam was still curled up on top of Gabriel, no closer to sleep than he had been to start with.

“Sweetheart,” Gabriel whispered, “Does your head hurt less at all?”

Sam mumbled something that wasn’t hopeful about the state of things.

“Can you give him any more painkiller?” Gabriel asked quietly, looking over at Raphael. He didn’t like his mate being in so much pain, not at all.

Raphael shook his head. “Not yet. They’re not exactly designed for humans and I don’t want to overload his system. A normal dose for you or me wouldn’t do anything to our heads, but I just can’t risk that for Sam.”

“I know.” Gabriel did know. Very well, in fact, why they were being so careful. But he couldn’t  _ stand  _ seeing his mate in so much pain. Not if there was anything at all he could do to help.

“I’ll give him more in an hour.”

It was another six hours before Sam was coherent enough to get off of Gabriel, but even then he didn’t do more than roll off him and then try to bury his face in Gabriel’s side.

“Sam, do you think you can eat some food for me?” Raphael was holding a tray with a bowl of chicken noodle soup on it.

“I’m not hungry,” Sam grumbled without moving his head.

“Sam, you haven’t eaten in quite awhile,” Gabriel said. “Are you sure you won’t try a few sips at least?”

“I  _ will  _ puke,” Gabriel’s mate growled. There was some silence as he thought. “But maybe a little bit of water wouldn’t hurt?”

Raphael waved his hand, placing the bottle with a straw from earlier near Sam. Instead of having medicated fluids in it, there was just water.

“Where’s Mikha?” Sam asked suddenly when the water was gone. He blearily looked around the room as he sought one of the two archangels not present in the room.


	3. Michael

Michael loved Talia, and he couldn’t have been happier for their child to finally be born.

But Auntie Ama’s return was foreboding, too. Her presence was a reminder that their Father had been interfering with their lives and happiness  _ since the literal beginning of existence _ and that He was still very much a real threat to their continued happiness.

And then there were Sam’s Psychic Visions and frequent nightmares. He could see how wrung out both his brother and his brother’s mate were.

Even as he watched his own mate showing their beautiful offspring the Garden of Heaven, there was a piece inside that  _ ached  _ with the newfound knowledge that there was more likely than not, an injured and lost fledgling  _ somewhere _ .

And while his siblings may not have seen it yet,  _ it stank of a trap _ . One that would work, too. Because there was no way either he or any of his flock would suffer a fledgling to live with such peril. Not on their lives.

Before he could dwell further on the possibilities of the fledgling or lack thereof, the scent of  _ the best  _ chicken noodle soup in all of  _ Heaven  _ assaulted his nose, and his stomach growled. But then it was gone, and Michael wanted nothing more than to have eaten  _ all of it _ .

“Mikha? You okay?” Heylel asked from where he was sitting a few yards away.

Michael glanced at his mate. Sami was sitting next to Heylel with Talia in his lap while he braided wild flowers together and draped the flower chains over her. It was adorable, and yet, his own discomfort was making it difficult to concentrate. 

He was almost nauseous with hunger, and he was confused. He was certain the phantom pregnancy symptoms he had shared with Heylel were supposed to have  _ ended  _ once Heylel had given birth. And there was no way he was going to ask Raph about it. Not when his brother’s understandable discomfort had been palpable. He’d just… deal. And maybe go looking for a snack.

“Mi?” Heylel repeated. He looked concerned, and Michael didn’t want it because they were supposed to be worrying about the safety of the fledglings, and their flock.

“I’m hungry,” he admitted quietly. “I think I’ll go walk around a little, maybe bring back a basket of fruit for all of us.”

Heylel raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question it. “Okay,” he said instead. He still looked concerned, but Michael was glad that he wasn’t being further questioned.

Michael turned around and walked deeper into the garden. There had to be something to eat around here somewhere.

A few minutes after he was out of sight, he smelled something  _ divine _ . It was sweet with a slight tang of almost citrus. It smelled familiar, but not something he could place, and certainly not something he had ever tasted before.

He could not leave the Garden without tasting it.

The tree bearing the unfamiliar fruit was at the very center of the Garden. They were red and smelled sharp as citrus but looked more like pomegranate.

Michael was sure he was supposed to remember what this was but he was too hungry to care and he was sure it was edible. Even if it wasn't, there was no way that it could hurt him.

The branches of the tree were so heavy with fruit that the branches draped downward. It was easy for Michael to reach up and pick one of the fruits.

He tore it in half, watching in fascination as the juice dripped down his arms. And then he tasted it. It was sweet with a hint of tang and there was nothing more that he wanted in the moment than to eat every fruit on the tree.

A few feet away from the tree there was a basket lying on its side, so Michael took it and began picking the fruit. For every fruit that made it into the basket, he ate at least one, and after the first few, he decided that it wasn’t necessary to break the fruit open because the peel was either edible or it wasn’t and it didn’t matter either way. It was slightly bitter,  _ but he didn’t care _ .

* * *

Joshua had never eaten the fruit of the tree in his garden called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He also had no intention of ever doing so, however that did not mean that he did not know the list of beings who had at one point in time all eaten from it. Even though most of them had not picked it themselves, he knew who all had tasted it, and the misery that might have come to them in one way or another because of it.

But the fruit itself was not inherently evil, and so it could not  _ really  _ be the cause. Just a superstition.

None of these things were relevant to why Joshua was concerned. But he would have been concerned regardless of what tree Michael decided to eat all the fruit from. He was just extra concerned because none of the individuals who had eaten from the Tree of Forbidden Fruit had ever eaten an entire fruit. Let alone more than one. Or a whole basket.

“Heylel, I think you should go make sure your mate is okay.”

Joshua had no qualms about going to Michael’s mate because if anyone could provide Michael with whatever it was that he needed, it was probably him. Or at least, he hoped so.

Heylel looked away from watching the two fledglings so that he could see the Gardener. “Is something wrong with Mikha?” he asked.

The Gardener glanced at the two fledglings as the elder of them stopped what he was doing with the flowers to stare at them, and rethought exactly what he wanted to say. “Michael is eating an unusual quantity of fruit from the tree at center of Heaven and I was concerned that it was not the most  _ appropriate  _ snack. He’s also collecting a rather large basket of it.”

The third eldest being in all of Heaven nodded his head, picking up as much on what Joshua implied as what was explicitly stated. Michael was eating more of the Forbidden Fruit than anyone else had, and was collecting it, which was slightly worrying, if only because Michael should  _ not  _ have been so hungry as to need it for nourishment.

“Thank you, Joshua. If you could stay here with Sami and Talia for a moment, I will bring Mikha back.” He looked over at the fledglings. “Sami, will you and Talia be okay here with Joshua while I go make sure Mikha didn’t get lost looking for a snack?”

The older of the two fledglings blinked at Heylel and then returned to braiding the flower stems together. “Tali and I will have fun with Joshie.” He held up the newest flower chain in Joshua’s direction. “Can I make you look pretty?”

Joshua glanced in Heylel’s direction and was met with an encouraging nod, so he walked over to sit down in front of the children. “I would like that, I think.”

* * *

Once upon a time, Heylel had wanted all of the other archangels to eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree. He had only been mostly successful, as he had lost the opportunity and desire to share it with either Mikha or Raph after the rest of their family had been broken apart. He wasn’t sure whether or not the fruit could be blamed, though the Creator had once tried to pin it on exactly that. But why create the fruit in the first place if absolutely no one was to ever eat of it?

But that didn’t matter. It didn’t even matter that Michael was eating it, except that eating so much of  _ anything  _ would not be particularly healthy, and more importantly, he was worried about why his mate was so hungry to begin with.

Heylel hadn't bought Mikha's flimsy excuses of his distraction being related to hunger. There had been a glint of determination which suggested he had been thinking about whatever Sam and Sami were having visions of and he was concerned about how it was affecting his mate. It would be just like Michael to find it necessary to go after a threat to a fledgling all by himself.

He found Mikha exactly where Joshua had said he would be, picking fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and either shoving them whole into his mouth or placing them in the very full basket he was holding.

“Mikha, Sweetheart,” Lucifer said quietly, stepping forwards to wrap his arms around Michael. “Do you think we can find you something else to eat? You’re worrying Joshua.”

“But… so  _ hungry _ .”

“I know.” Lucifer gently put a hand around the fruit Mikha was in the process of trying to eat. He pressed on Mikha’s fingers and the elder archangel released the fruit into his hand. Against his better judgement, he took a bite out of it. There were too many bad memories associated with it for the Lightbringer to take enjoyment from the taste, but he knew it had been necessary. “Sweetheart, do you know what tree this is?”

“No.” Mikha frowned, and looked down at the basket of fruit he had picked. “I can’t remember, but there’s something about it.” He worried his lip. “This might sound odd, but…. I think Sam needs to eat a slice of it.”

Heylel honestly thought that sounded like a terrible idea.  _ Gabriel would murder them both.  _ But he also trusted his mate. Mikha’s plans didn’t always make sense, but he was the Viceroy of Heaven, and if he really thought it would help, maybe it was worth a shot. “If you’re sure this is going to help, I think it should be a very small slice.”

“Okay.” Michael handed Lucifer one of the fresh fruits from the basket he was holding.

Lucifer took it and cut it. “I think you should leave the basket here.”

They left the center of the garden.

* * *

“How are we supposed to find a missing Fledgling when no one else with greater magics than us has able to locate it?” Fenrir asked.

“Their powers aren’t inherently  _ greater,  _ for one thing. Different, perhaps, but not greater. Or lesser, either. I’m also not sure they’ve started properly looking. As for why I think this will work, well, I’m sure Dad would have done it already if he’d thought of it, but from what you said, he’s probably been really busy making sure Sam’s okay after what one of you did to him.”

“It wasn’t me!” Fenrir snarled.

“It happened weeks ago, he should be fine!” Jormungandr hissed. “Not that I’m the one who might as well have poisoned him. That’s not my MO!”

Hela rolled her eyes. “I didn’t imply that it was. But Dad still said all five of you are grounded. But anyway, let’s just see what this spell tells us.”   
  
She held up a feather, but it wasn’t any feather. It was clearly a feather from one of Gabriel’s wings. She dropped it in a glass petri dish on the table. Next to it, there was a very large map of the United States.

“Like calls to like, right? So let’s see what happens if we go like this…” She added a square of snake skin, a hair from the mane of a horse, the tooth of a wolf, and a drop of her own blood. Then, she struck a match and dropped it in the petri dish. “Let the archangel of pagan fosterlings lead me to an Earthbound Fledgling.”

It took more than a moment, and long enough for everyone to stare at the map worriedly, before two glowing circles appeared on the map. One was a mix of amber and orange and the other was green.

“Is that it?” Fenrir asked, pointing to the red dot somewhere in Nebraska.

“No, you idiot, that’s Alliance, Nebraska, where the American Antichrist was born? Don’t you keep up with any current events? No, I think what we’re looking for is here.” She pointed to the green dot. “Let’s go check it out.”

* * *

Sam was still lying on the floor when Michael and Lucifer returned to the large nest with the children in tow. Heylel was carrying Talia on his hip with one arm and holding Sami’s hand with the other while Michael held only a very small slice of fruit that had been cut for Sam.

“Sam,” Michael said, instantly crossing to the hunter. “Can you eat this for me?”

Gabriel’s eyes widened as soon as he saw the slice of fruit. “Michael, no…”

But Sam was already sitting up and reaching for it. He wasn’t sure what it was or why this was important, but he knew all the way to the core of his very being that he had to eat this,  _ right now _ . He hadn’t been able to stop the thoughts swirling in head. Amara, the Creator, the missing fledgling, and he was more certain now than he had been before that there was a  _ piece  _ missing in the puzzle of visions and nightmares.

Sam swallowed the fruit slice without thinking, the taste so bitter and sour that he couldn’t help but swallow it as quickly as possible. But he held no regret.  _ This was significant. _

“Sam….”

Sam closed his eyes.  _ Missing fledglings and demon blood visions.  _ He’d never figured out how to control what he saw in the visions, but what if he could? What if he could find the fledgling that way?

“Sam!”

_ Fledglings and dark spaces. Aching backs and sore skin and fear so strong it was palpable. It had been difficult to differentiate the fledgling’s prison from Amara’s, but he’d  _ been  _ to hers. _

He exhaled through his mouth and ignored the sting of copper in his nose. It would be worth it.

_ And then he saw it. Three children  _ he knew  _ about to walk into the trap laid so perfectly for the archangels, as the woman reached to knock on the front door of the dilapidated house he had once been inside of. _

“No!” he was screaming. “Gabriel, the fosterlings!” It didn’t matter that they hadn’t liked him, that one of them had possibly tried to get him blackout drunk.  _ They were Gabriel’s, therefore they were his _ .

“Where?!”

Gabriel was shouting, scared, but Sam was already rattling off the address he didn’t need to read off the mailbox to know. Photographic memory had never been the greatest of his skills, but he would never forget the address of the man who had written his entire life into a series of books.

Michael drew his archangel blade and was gone almost before Sam could finish rattling off the address. He was the Viceroy of Heaven, and no harm would come to any children. Not Gabriel’s fosterlings,  _ a question for another day,  _ or Heaven’s missing fledgling.

  
  


Children were sacred to humans. And even more so to the Archangels.


End file.
